I am a member of the Northern California Rose Society – for the fun of it.  I enjoy raising the roses and having people to talk with about them.  At the time, I didn't realize there were such things as ‘rose shows' locally.  Also state and nation wide.  I thought to myself, what a quaint event that must be.  Little did I know it was a cross between an Olympic event and a traveling circus.  First of all the exhibitors were expected to show up at the exhibition hall at an ungodly hour, with all the roses they wanted to show.  So some of the more vigorous growers had 30 or more roses of all sizes, colors, fragrances, and species.  It was very early in the morning, so we all performed without coffee at one step above zombies.  But before the roses could be prepared for showing, one member arrived by truck with loads of exhibition material:  several different size stands and tubes – like test tubes – for the roses, cards to be filed out to identify plants, lay-out material for the roses to be put in categories, and tables. What set-up material wasn't on the truck, seemed to come with individuals from home storerooms.  For many people this was a familiar experience, for me it was new.  Steep learning curve.  I expected an elephant or at least several clowns to emerge from these equipment vehicles.

After all the material was delivered and unloaded, then the roses are prepared.  This takes time, several hours!  Fortunately the atmosphere was quite friendly, so it was possible to ask questions and get reliable answers about how to prepare the exhibits.  I had expected this to resemble the laboratory tests of my college years and expected funny business: secret sabotage in the spirit of winning.  I was pleased and surprised to find the atmosphere quite friendly and so ‘Olympian' only the intensity and extent of the care for detail and the degree collection of the specimens for showing.  The roses were cut, snipped, leaves washed down, delicately stuffed into tubes or exhibition vases depending on the growers aesthetic sensibility.  For me, it was also important to smell all the entrants plants – terrific aromas.  Virtually all of the exhibitors were seniors, so by this time, about 4 hours between arrival and beginning of judging, we were moving heavily around the place looking for chairs and  anticipating a nap.  In general, this is the kind of activity that AARP would sponsor.

The judging began exactly on time, 4 hours after the prelims.  Much to my surprise, the experience was very positive.  It is a story unto itself, and it all originally began for me in master gardener training. I would love to tell it.  Interested?  If I get one affirmative, I'll go forward.